The Moulin Rouge
by Sandra Athrenael
Summary: I've pieced together Christians words from the script with my words to fill in all the scenes he didn't narrate, and together they make the complete book of the Moulin Rouge. COMPLETED
1. Chapter 1

DISCLAIMER (VERY IMPORTANT!!!) I DO NOT OWN THE MOVIE OR STORY LINE OR ANYTHING OF THE MOULIN ROUGE, AND I AM NOT ATTEMPTING TO MAKE ANY MONEY OFF OF THIS FANFIC.  
  
The Moulin Rouge  
  
The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love, and be loved in return.  
  
The Moulin Rouge. A nightclub. A dance hall and a Bordello ruled over by Harold Zidler. A kingdom of nighttime pleasures, where the rich and powerful came to play with the young and beautiful creatures of the underworld. The most beautiful of all these was the woman I loved. Satine. A courtesan, she sold her love to men. They called her "the Sparkling Diamond," and she was the star of the Moulin Rouge.  
  
The woman I loved is dead.  
  
I first came to Paris one year ago. It was 1899, the summer of love. I knew nothing of the Moulin Rouge, Harold Zidler, or Satine. The world had been swept up in Bohemian Revolution, and I had traveled from London to be a part of it. On the hill near Paris was the village of Montmartre. It was not as my father had said- "A village of sin!", but the center of the Bohemian world. Musicians, painters, writers. They were known as "The Children of the Revolution." Yes, I had come to live a penniless existence. I had come to write about truth, beauty, freedom, and that which I believed in above all things-love. My father had said, "Always this ridiculous obsession with love!".  
  
There was only one problem. I'd never been in love.  
  
Luckily, right at that moment an unconscious Argentinean fell through my roof. He was quickly joined by a dwarf dressed as a nun. His name was Marie Raymond Toulouse-Lautrec Monfa. He apologized profusely for all the trouble he had caused, and proceeded to tell me about this play he was rehearsing for. A play, something very modern called Spectacular Spectacular. Unfortunately, the unconscious Argentinean suffered from a sickness called Narcolepsy. Just then three very absurd looking men stuck their heads through the hole in my ceiling. One was dressed as a woman, and had a very high voice. Another was bald and wore small spectacles, and the other had a beard that ran down to his waist.  
  
They argued with Toulouse about their unfinished play, and eventually the transvestite wondered who they would possible get to read the role of a young, sensitive Swiss poet/goatherder. Before I knew it, I was upstairs, standing in for the unconscious Argentinean. Spectacular Spectacular was not really as spectacular as it was played out to be. There were small explosions and droning pipes, accompanied by Toulouse's not so wonderful singing. There seemed to be artistic differences over Audrey's lyrics to Satine's songs, to say the least.  
  
The next few minutes were spent bickering over various ways to say a simple phrase. Then the Argentinean awoke and shot in his words of advice, but the group did not seem to hear. I stood on my ladder, trying to get a word in edgewise, but it was close to impossible. I waved my hands urgently, but nothing seemed to be working, so I did the only thing I knew of that would catch their attention. I burst into song.  
  
"The hills are alive with the sounds of music."  
  
That definitely quieted them down. I waited in the moments of silence before receiving the group's approval, headed by the Argentinean who had awoken once again. Since I knew they liked it, I went on, inventing words as I sang.  
  
"With songs they have sung for a thousand years." I made an eager face at the rest of the group, all who seemed pleased except for the Transvestite named Audrey. But Toulouse's suggestions that Audrey and I write the show together was not what Audrey wanted to hear. Audrey left in a fit of rage, slamming the door behind him. Then the group started talk of Zidler and how I had never written a show before. They huddled together and whispered, talking of how Zidler would never be convinced.  
  
But Toulouse had a plan. Satine. They would dress me in the Argentinean's best suit and pass me off as a famous English writer. Once Satine heard my modern poetry, she would be astounded and insist to Zidler that I write Spectacular Spectacular. The only problem was, I kept hearing my father's voice in my head-"You'll end up wasting your life at the Moulin Rouge with a cancan dancer!" So as quickly as I could, I ran from the eager bunch or playwrights and yelled my refusal to write the play. When asked why, the only response I could think of outright was that I wasn't positive I was a true Bohemian revolutionary. It turns out all it takes is to believe in beauty, freedom, truth, and above all things love, which was at the top of my list already.  
  
Toulouse exclaimed that I was the voice of the children of the revolution. It was the perfect plan. I was to audition for Satine, and I would taste my first glass of. . .Absinthe. It was a yellowish green color and was brought out on a platter with flaming match sticks. As I downed the first putrid glass, I saw green and my head spun. I was soon swept up into a frenzy of drunken people, and we all swayed to the music we heard in our heads. The fairy on the Absinthe bottle seemed to be talking to us, giving us words of help and even a dance or two.  
  
We were off to the Moulin Rouge, and I was to perform my poetry for Satine. 


	2. Chapter 2

Harold Zidler and his infamous girls. They called them his "Diamond Dogs." They came out onto the dance floor in brightly colored skirts that didn't stay still for a single moment, and sang dirty phrases to the men that came to call on them. Soon the whole dance floor was covered in Diamond Dogs and men, all dancing and singing their drunken hearts out. I had not been lied to. Moulin Rouge was most certainly the highlight of anyone's visit.  
  
I soon joined the men on the dance floor, begging the women to give us a show. Everyone acted as if they knew each other, so I simply played along. Toulouse was at my side, dancing and singing with the rest of them. The Moulin Rouge was the place to be.  
  
Silence fell as Harold Zidler announced the next dance, then everything started up again. There were skirts swishing, colors whirling, and women's voices ringing out into the steamy nightclub air. I was still all very new to this lifestyle, somewhat out of place with Toulouse and the locals. I guess the Absinthe must have caught up with me, because suddenly I felt myself very much belonging, singing with the rest of the night life.  
  
It wasn't long at all until I was ushered to a small table with the rest of my Bohemian friends. Toulouse excitedly told me that his plan had worked. Zidler had been convinced. Just then the hall fell silent and the lights went out. Sparkles cascaded from the ceiling, and just about every man in the Moulin Rouge raised his head.  
  
"It's her." Toulouse said. "The Sparkling Diamond."  
  
A swing descended ever so slowly from above the red curtains, with the most beautiful women I had ever laid eyes on perched in its seat. I gasped. She had her head facing down, her bright red lips opening to sing with one of the most enchanting voices I had ever heard.  
  
"_The French are glad to die for love_." She raised her head as she sang, revealing sparkling blue eyes. "_They delight in fighting duels_."  
  
Little did I know, but someone else was to meet Satine that night.  
  
"_But I prefer a man who lives_."  
  
Zidler's investor.  
  
"_And gives expensive jewels_."  
  
The Duke.  
  
Suddenly everyone started cheering as Satine swung over their heads. The music began blaring again, and Satine carried on with her song.  
  
Toulouse leaned in to me. "After her number, I've arranged a private meeting, just you and Mademoiselle Satine. Totally alone."  
  
Totally alone?  
  
I watched as she let the men throw her in the air. She even seemed to be enjoying it.  
  
Toulouse pushed me onto my feet, reassuring me that things would be okay. Just then I looked up and Satine met my eyes, sending a cold rush through me. Everyone cheered as Satine and Zidler dropped down in a circle made of women's skirts. She emerged seconds later in a completely different costume, once again being tossed around by the screaming audience.  
  
I realized in horror that she was being thrown in my direction. She finished her last note standing right in front of me. I gasped and looked up at her.  
  
"I believe you were expecting me." She said in a smooth, low voice. I was entranced.  
  
I could only manage a small yes.  
  
She turned to her excited audience and announced that it was ladies choice. She then turned back to me and beckoned me to join her. My heart skipped a beat. I couldn't join her, what would I do? But I was pushed forward anyway by Toulouse and his friends. I was paralyzed as I was dragged to the middle of the dance floor with none other than Satine herself. Eventually I had no choice but to dance, and soon Satine and I were having a conversation about the play. She seemed very interested. No sooner had we started talking then Satine was back up on her wing, finishing her rendition. Everyone was swaying beneath her, hanging on her every word.  
  
As my Bohemian friends applauded me, I couldn't take my eyes off Satine. She had reached her second to last word when she started gasping violently for air. I tensed as I knew something was wrong. At that moment Satine fell from her swing, plummeting to the floor below. Luckily a fellow dancer caught her, and carried her off the dance floor. Zidler tried to cover up this blunder, and the rest of the crowd bought it, but I wasn't convinced. Something was the matter.  
  
I waited in the Elephant Toulouse had sent me too. Satine was

supposed to meet me there.  
  
I heard Satine's voice from behind me and turned to see her standing  
there in. . .in well, as close to nothing as I'd ever seen a girl wear  
before. I wondered at first if there had been a misunderstanding, but  
she assured me she was her for the poetry. She seemed upset when I told  
her I'd rather get it over and done with, but I was only speaking the

truth. God only knows what I would've said if we had waited any longer.  
  
I tried to explain my modern poetry to her, and I thought she  
understood, maybe she did, but the way she was reacting didn't make me  
think she was expecting a poetry reading. Then I took a turn for the  
worst. Nothing was coming to me. Usually I'm full of so many ideas I  
can barely write them all down, but tonight was different.  
  
Just when I thought I was on a breakthrough, Satine walked over to me and  
pulled me onto the bed, insisting that we make love. I was very  
confused. I tried to tell her that I came to read poetry, but she would  
have none of it. There seemed to be a huge misunderstanding between us.  
Then she demanded poetry, so I untangled myself and tripped off the bed,  
scrambling to my feet a good five feet away from her, just to be safe.  
  
I started to create a poem off the top of my mind. When I thought we  
had finally reached an understanding once again, she began rolling around  
on the floor, making it impossible to recite my next verse. I couldn't  
help wondering for a fleeting moment if she was perhaps possessed.  
  
"_My gift is my song_." I sang loudly. That definitely seemed to quiet  
her a bit. "_And this one's for you_." I said, turning to face her. She  
wasn't writhing on the floor anymore, but listening to me intently,  
stopped in her tracks.

"_And you can tell everybody, that this is your  
song. It may be quite simple but, Now that it's done. I hope you don't  
mind, I hope you don't mind, that I put down in words how wonderful life  
is, now you're in the world_."  
  
We were now standing opposite each other as I continued singing. I  
took her hand in mind and twirled her around in a circle, smiling. When  
the song was over, we stood transfixed, staring at each other.  
  
"I can't believe it." She whispered. "I'm in love. I'm in love with a  
young, handsome, talented Duke."  
  
I beamed with pride, but I couldn't help questioning one thing. "Duke?"  
  
"Not that the title's important of course." She said, giggling.  
  
I corrected her. "I'm not a Duke."  
  
Her face changed. "Not a Duke?"  
  
I smiled, I thought she knew who I was. "I'm a writer." The romantic  
moment had suddenly drew to a close.  
  
"A writer!" I confirmed her shock. She didn't seem pleased, and became  
even more outraged at the mention of Toulouse. It turns out, I was one  
of Toulouse's Oh-so talented, charmingly Bohemian, tragically  
impoverished protégés.  
  
Satine squealed, muttered about murdering Toulouse. She ran to the door,  
slamming it when she saw that the Duke was right out side. She yelled  
for me to hide, but before I could move, Zidler came barging into the  
room. Satine spread her transparent robe out so I could quickly drop to  
my knees.  
  
I hid behind the small bar table and listened to the conversation  
taking place. I tried to raise my head and look, but Satine whipped her  
head around and I had to hide immediately. That was when I first heard  
the insufferable droning that was the Duke's voice. He quoted Satine's  
show lines, which seemed to make her very happy. I couldn't help  
wondering why I hadn't thought of that myself.  
  
The Duke made his way over to my hiding spot but Satine created a  
distraction so he wouldn't discover me. She made several other poor  
excuses before quoting the lines I had spoken to her earlier.  
Unfortunately she didn't really know them, so I ended up having to mouth  
them to her the whole time. The she began singing, and I felt that  
unfamiliar cold run through me again.  
  
As she stood on one side of the Duke, I stood on the other, listening  
to her voice.  
  
". . ._how wonderful life is, now you're in the world_." She finished,  
looking at me over the Duke's shoulder. He was obviously in love, as  
many men had been before him, with the beautiful and seductive Satine.  
As she began talking to him again, she beckoned with her hand for me to  
exit. I crept slowly back, opening to the door to see the Duke's  
manservant standing right outside.  
  
Without thinking, I slammed the door, forcing Satine to yell and make  
up another story to distract the Duke. I was soon watching as Satine  
began to seduce the Duke the same way she had gotten me. I was creeping  
to the back of the room when Satine urgently ushered the Duke away,  
mentioning something about opening night. When the Duke had finally been  
pushed outside, Satine turned to me and started scolding me for all the  
trouble I could have caused.  
  
Suddenly her face paled and she took in large gasps of air, fainting into  
my arms. I managed to drag her to her bed, falling on top of her in the  
process. The Duke had re-entered just then, at exactly he wrong moment.  
Then on top of everything, Satine had woken up, but she weaved together a  
perfect excuse for this awkward situation.  
  
We had been rehearsing.  
  
The Duke didn't seem to be fooled so easily, but Toulouse barged in from  
the back shouting, asking us how the rehearsal was going. To add on to  
everything, Harold Zidler arrived, creating the full team we needed for a  
real emergency rehearsal.  
  
The Duke seemed to enjoy the story line we had laid out for him, much  
of which we changed along the way. When we were finished telling him  
about Spectacular Spectacular, he seemed to like the general idea.  
  
Zidler had an investor. And the Bohemians had a show.  
  
While the celebration party raged upstairs, I tried to write. But all I  
could think about was her. Was she thinking about me?

a/n: The spacing of paragraphs got screwed up on its transfer to fanfiction, sorry.


	3. Chapter 3

I looked out my window at Satine's room and went back to my type writer, lost in my ideas for the show. I couldn't help myself, but I kept looking up at her window every few seconds. I had never felt like this before, could it be love? My heart skipped a beat as I saw her in the window, singing something. I rose from my seat and stepped towards the window, gazing at her. I walked carefully to the door of my flat and opened it.  
  
She was going to the roof of the Elephant, and I would meet her there. Soon I was out on the terrace, staring upwards, trying to see where she was. I searched for something to assist my climb and luckily found a long tassel hanging from the Elephant's back. I climbed up, slipping ever so often, growing closer with ever step. She was just sitting down as I made it to the top, so I watched her for a few seconds.  
  
She noticed me almost instantly, and sprang up, obviously unsure of whom I was. I sputtered out a few lame excuses of why I had come to her in the middle of the night. I told her it was to thank her for helping me get the job. Just as she was about to leave, I stopped her.  
  
"Wait. No, please, wait." She stopped and turned to look at me. "Before when we were--when we were—when you thought I was the Duke, you said that you loved me, and I wanted to know if-"  
  
"If it was all an act?" She asked, cutting me off.  
  
"Yes." I replied simply, looking up at her with hopeful eyes.  
  
"Of course." She said smugly, pursing her lips.  
  
I had never been one to hide disappointment well. In fact, I could rarely ever keep a poker face.  
  
"It just felt real." I stuttered, lowering my head. She hadn't even thought of me once. To her, I was just another lovesick follower, the same as all the other ones that meet her at the show.  
  
"Christian," She started, making me look up with a start. "I'm a courtesan. I'm paid to make men believe what they want to believe."  
  
"Yes," I said, my eyes clouding over. A hurt smile played across my face. "Silly of me, to think y-you could fall in love with someone like me." She laughed, to my despair.  
  
"I can't fall in love with anyone." She stated. I felt so bad for her at that moment I wanted to cry.  
  
"Can't fall in love?" I said incredulously. "But a life without love, that's terrible." The part of me that was a Bohemian Revolutionary was starting to take over.  
  
"No, being on the street, that's terrible." She argued.  
  
"No!" I cried. She gasped. "Love is like oxygen, love is a many- splendored thing, love lifts us up where were belong, all you need is love!" Just when she had had enough, I began singing, drilling my point over and over again.  
  
_"All you need is love."_  
  
She continued to argue, but I wouldn't give up.  
  
_"All you need is love."_

_"All you need is love."_  
  
_"Love is just a game."_ She finished. I rounded the other side of her.  
  
_"I was made for lovin' you baby, you were made for lovin' me!"_ I sang. She moved farther away.  
  
_"The only way of lovin' me baby, is to pay a lovely fee."_  
  
I circled a pole and continued, _"Just one night, give me just one night."_ I pleaded. She most likely heard that all the time.  
  
_"There's no way, cause you can't pay."_ She laughed, sending that shiver down my spine again.  
  
_"In the name of love, one night in the name of love."_ I begged again.  
  
_"You crazy fool. I won't give in to you."_

I sang some more, and this time she listened.

_"You'd think people would have heard enough of silly love songs."_ I walked up to her.  
  
_"I look around me and I see it isn't so."_

She sang another verse to me, and I leaned in very close, close enough to kiss her even, but she pulled away. I had to show her how much I cared. I ran up to the very edge of the Elephant and spread my arms wide.  
  
_"Love lifts us up where were belong. Where eagles fly, on a mountain high."_ She grabbed me down, and I put my arms around her waist.  
  
_"Love makes us act like we are fools. Throw our lives away, for one happy day."  
  
"We could be heroes, just for one day!"_ I sang to her loudly. And we could be heroes, if only she'd let me near her. I followed her down the stairs, arguing about why we would never work together. Finally I could put up with it no longer. I came out from the back and sang,  
  
_"We should be lovers."_ It was a very bold statement for someone as sheltered and conservative as I, but I said it anyway, only to be rejected by Satine. This blow did nothing to me, I merely suggested it again. This time she was more open to the suggestion. Though it was nearly impossible, we could still be lovers if we really wanted to.  
  
She joined me this time. _"We could be heroes, forever and ever."  
_  
She ended our love medley. _"How wonderful life is, now you're in the world."_  
  
"You're going to be bad for business, I can tell." She whispered.  
  
That was when I kissed Satine for the very first time. In an Elephant late at night, I, Christian, Bohemian Revolutionary, fell in love.  
  
How wonderful life was, now Satine was in the world.


	4. Chapter 4

But in the Duke, Zidler had gotten much more than he had bargained for. He wanted the deeds to the Moulin Rouge. He wanted to by my Satine.  
  
The Moulin Rouge was to become a theatre, Zidler announced during rehearsal. But the theatre came with a price that was more than I could bare. The Duke was to woo Satine over a dinner, and then she would be his.  
  
At the rehearsal, Satine and I exchanged glances every so often while Zidler made his speech. Just as he was finished speaking, a large wrecking ball came hurtling through the wall directly behind him.  
  
"The show must go one!" He shouted.  
  
Yes, the show would go on, but Satine would not attend supper that night, or the following night. She would spend her time with me, rehearsing for the show.  
  
I ran about, making up the story as I went, shouting lines out into the night, making Satine laugh and yell with me.  
  
". . . and the magical sitar says the greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love, and be loved in return."  
  
Rehearsals continued from there, and Satine and I spent more time together every day. Soon enough we weren't exactly rehearsing anymore. Aside from slight interruptions from the Duke, we were almost always together, exchanging kisses.  
  
For try as the Duke may, it was almost too easy for the young writer and the lead actress to invent perfectly legitimate reasons to avoid him.  
  
One day at rehearsal I was watching Satine as she sat next to the Duke, smiling as I knew I could make up another reason for her to avoid her plans with him yet again. I walked over cautiously and leaned down.  
  
"Mademoiselle Satine," I whispered. "I haven't quite finished writing that new scene. The "Will the lovers be meeting at the Sitar Player's humble abode" scene and I wondered if I could work on it with you later tonight." I voiced my secret invitation, desperately hoping she'd say yes.  
  
The Duke once again demanded she attend a supper.  
  
"Well, it's not important. We could work on it tomorrow." I said, standing back up. Satine rose furiously.  
  
"How dare you! It cannot wait until tomorrow the "lovers WILL be meeting in the Sitar Player's humble abode" scene is the most important in the production. We will work on it tonight until I am completely satisfied." I smiled smugly as the Duke was lost for words at our managing to slip through his greasy fingers once again.  
  
I followed Satine up to the second story landing, above all the rehearsing and above the troublesome Duke. We ducked behind a curtain and kissed, not in the least worried about someone discovering us. Faintly in the background we could hear Zidler,  
  
"Bright and early tomorrow we'll work on the next scene-"the lovers are discovered!"  
  
When we had stopped kissing I made sure Satine would come that night at eight. She laughed and sent me off not really wanting to go myself.  
  
But Satine did not show up that night. Satine had not even gone to the Duke.  
  
How could I know in those last, fatal days, that a force darker than jealousy and stronger than love had begun to take hold of Satine.  
  
When she did not arrive for the Duke, she was saved by the quick thinking of Harold Zidler. His brilliant lies had once again averted disaster. But no lie, however brilliant, could save Satine. All night the penniless Sitar Player had waited, and now, for the first time, he felt the cold stab of Jealousy. I looked up at Satine, who was lying on my bed in a bathrobe.  
  
"Where were you last night?" I asked softly.  
  
"I told you, I was sick." She answered. I walked over and sat next to her.  
  
"You don't have to lie to me." I said, reaching for her. She moved away.  
  
"We have to end it. Everyone knows." These words stabbed at me until I felt I couldn't breathe. End it, now, after we had come so far? I couldn't just forget about her like that! "Sooner or later the Duke will find out too."  
  
I looked away, breathing hard. "On opening night, I have to sleep with the Duke." My heart clenched. "And the jealousy will drive you mad." My eyes stung as she got up and walked to the window. Angry and sad all at once, I got up and walked after her out onto the windowsill.  
  
"Then I'll write a song," I said, "And we'll put in it the show, and no matter how bad things get, or whatever happens," I continued, kissing her forehead. "Whenever you hear it, or sing it, or whistle it or hum it, then you'll know it'll mean we love one another.  
  
"I won't get jealous." Those four fatal words. If I only knew then how wrong I was.  
  
She still refused to believe it. I looked at her desperately through the spaces in the light up sign outside my room, hoping she was lying. But she only shook her head and looked away.  
  
"_Never knew I could feel like this_." I knew she said it wouldn't work, but I had to try.

_"Like I've never seen the sky before. Want to vanish inside your kiss."_

And we did use the secret song in rehearsal now. We were still together, our love had overcome all obstacles.  
  
_"Seasons may change. Winter to spring. But I love you, until the end of time."_  
  
_"Come what may"_

I had sang it before and I would sing it again. "I will love you until my dying day." And I would. I would love Satine far beyond my dying day. I would love her forever.  
  
Now Satine was singing along with me.

_"Suddenly the world seems such a perfect place. Suddenly it moves with such a perfect grace. Suddenly my life doesn't seem such a waste. It all revolves around you. And there's no mountain too high, no river too wide."  
_  
Satine spent all her days and nights with me, sometimes rehearsing and sometimes not.  
  
_"Sing out this song and I'll be there by your side."_ And that was true. I was nearly always at her side.  
  
_"Storm clouds may gather, and stars may collide. But I love you, until the end of time. Come what may, come what may, I will love you."_

And I would.  
  
Then one day during rehearsal, something was let slip by Nini, one of Satine's dancers. Maybe if she had kept quiet things would not have been the way they were or are.  
  
_". . .I will love you until my dying day."_

But the Duke did not like the ending.  
  
"Why would the courtesan choose a penniless Sitar Player over the maharaja, who is offering a lifetime of security? That's real love."  
  
That wasn't true!  
  
"Once the Sitar player has satisfied his lust, he will leave the courtesan with nothing. I suggest that in the end the courtesan choose the maharaja."  
  
The Duke could care less about the meaning of this play. All he wanted was the one thing he knew he couldn't have no matter how hard he tried. Satine.  
  
"WHY SHOULDN'T THE COURTESAN CHOOSE THE MAHARAJA?!"  
  
"BECAUSE SHE DOESN'T LOVE YOU!!!" I yelled back, soon realizing my horrible mistake. "H-him. Sh-she doesn't love h--she doesn't love him." I knew this made no use, Our secret was as good as exposed.  
  
The ending was going to be re-written to have the courtesan choose the maharaja, and without our secret song. Satine began putting on her act for the Duke. She was going to have supper with him, and god knows what else. I felt my heart drop to my stomach and my throat clench.  
  
Backstage after rehearsal I had pulled Satine aside.  
  
"I don't want you to sleep with him." I begged. Satine was right when she said he could destroy everything, but I didn't care. All I wanted was her, I didn't care about the show! She said it was for us, but I refused to believe it. How could something like that lead to something good?  
  
"You promised to me you wouldn't be jealous." She whispered. She was right, I realized with horror, I had promised that. But she must have known I would go back on my word. What kind of lover was I if I remained emotionless as she slept with another man? I tried everything to stop her from going, but she went anyway.  
  
She had gone to the tower to save us all, and for our part, we could do nothing but wait.


	5. Chapter 5

And wait I did. While Satine was seducing the Duke, everyone else from Spectacular Spectacular sat in the theatre and waited. For a time, no one made a sound. I downed glass after glass of Absinthe, anything that would take the pain away, but nothing helped. It was always there, eating away at me.  
  
Just then Nini came swaggering up and sat down in my lap.  
  
"Don't worry Shakespear, you'll get you're ending once the Duke get his. . .end. . .in." I had had enough with her. I threw her off me and left her gasping and yelling at me. The Argentinean went to comfort her, then he turned to me.  
  
"Never fall in love with a woman who sells herself." He advised. "It always ends bad!" Everyone turned to stare at us, and my eyes started to smart with tears as I tried to stick up for myself. While I stood alone, Satine was up in that hideous tower giving herself to the Duke. I breathed heavily and stood glued to the spot.  
  
The Argentinean walked down the steps. "We have a dance!" He announced. "In the brothels of Buenos Aires." The piano struck a Spanish sounding chord. I watched him carefully as he walked to the middle of the room.  
  
"It tells the story of a prostitute," The spotlight fell on Nini, who ran down the steps obviously uninsulted, laughing drunkenly. "and a man who falls in love with her."  
  
They began dancing, acting out a story with their steps.  
  
"First, there is desire." He narrated.  
  
"Then Passion."  
  
"Then suspicion, jealousy, anger, betrayal. Where the love is for the highest bidder, there is no trust. Without trust there is no love. Jealousy. Yes, jealousy will drive you MAD!"  
  
"_Roxanne. You don't have to put on that red light."_ Soon more people were joining in the dance.  
  
_"Walk the streets for money. You don't care if it's wrong or if it is right. Roxanne. You don't have to wear that dress tonight. Roxanne. You don't have to sell your body to the night."_  
  
Then I decided to add in my own words. Not so much to console me, but just to let out the justified anger building inside me.  
  
_ "His eyes upon your face. His hand upon your hand. His lips caress your skin. It's more than I can stand!"  
_  
_[Roxanne]_  
  
_"Why does my heart cry?"_  
  
_[Roxanne]_  
  
_ "Feelings I can't fight. You're free to leave me but just don't deceive me, and please, believe me when I say I love you."_ Now everyone was dancing in pairs, acting out the story with their sweeping dance moves.  
  
I waded through the pack of dancers and made my way to the door. Looming before me was the gothic tower.  
  
The Duke was letting us keep our "fairy tale" ending.  
  
_[Roxanne]_  
  
_"Why does my heart cry?"_

_[You don't have to put on that red light]  
  
[Roxanne]  
  
"Feelings I can't fight."  
[You don't have to do your hair tonight]_  
  
_[Roxanne]  
  
"You're free to leave me but just don't deceive me and please, believe me when I say. . . I love you."_  
  
Now I was just underneath the Gothic tower, its many levels going vertically up from where I was standing. I peered upwards and thought I saw someone standing there. Could it be Satine? Had she managed to convince the Duke without seducing him? My mind raced as I looked to the sky, searching the tower balcony for her red hair. It had to be her standing there, I felt her. I can't explain it, it was just some feeling in the pit of my stomach. Instinct. Pure instinct.  
  
I lowered my head, almost ashamed, and continued walking. Had I known the Duke was mistreating Satine I would have barged straight up the many stairs and rescue her from him.  
  
_[Roxanne] _

_"Why does my heart cry?"  
  
"Feelings I can't hide."  
  
[Roxanne you don't have to wear that dress tonight]  
  
[Roxanne]_  
  
I screamed out my window, praying Satine would hear me and run to me. If I couldn't save her, then someone else had to. And someone else did. A wonderful man by the name of Chocolat had saved my Satine and brought her back to me.  
  
The clock had just begun to chime when my door burst open and Satine came running in wearing just her corset. She was muttering inaudibly through sobs. I did however catch that the Duke had seen me and knew about our love affair.  
  
"We'll leave." I proposed. "We'll leave tonight."  
  
Like always, Satine was concerned about the show. "I don't care about the show." I told her. And I didn't. As long as we had each other, I didn't care about anything in the world. I had finally convinced her, and she was going to gather her things unnoticed and slip away from the Moulin Rouge and the Duke forever.  
  
It's such a sad shame that even if we had gone away, Satine would have died anyway.  
  
Little did I know, but the Duke had his own plans. If I showed my face one more time, I was to be killed.


	6. Chapter 6

It was the night of our getaway that Satine discovered the Duke's plan.

That very same night, was the night that Satine was told that she was dying. And it was no trick. She thought herself a fool to believe. And as her condition steadily worsened, I can't say I didn't disagree with her, but there always was and always will be a part of me that wishes she was not a fool to believe, and that everything had worked out.  
  
Of course, we had both been fools then, and I am still a fool now.  
  
_"Yes, it all ends today."_  
  
She was to send me away to save me. Hurt me to save me. She was a creature of the underworld, and they couldn't afford to love.  
  
"_Today's the day when dreaming ends."_  
  
Did anybody know what they were living for, the creatures of the underworld. Nobody really knew what went on behind the curtain every day, but it wasn't all fun and games. Every day was just another day to be living. It had no purpose. The stage held their final destiny.  
  
But the show must go on.  
  
I had been waiting for her, staring out the window anxiously, scanning the streets for her silhouette when she came running in the door. She looked distraught.  
  
"What's wrong?" I asked. Her eyes were red and swollen.  
  
"I'm staying with the Duke." She blurted. These words didn't quite register. Was this some kind of a joke? I didn't understand. "After I left you," She continued, "The Duke came to see me and he offered me everything. Everything I've ever dreamed of. He has one condition. I must never see you again"  
  
I wondered if perhaps she had been driven mad, but she seemed to be in her right state of mind and very satisfied with what she was saying.  
  
"What are you talking about?" I asked, walking over to her.  
  
"You knew who I was." She said. And I had, but I loved who she was, and this wasn't her, I was sure of it. But something inside of me still ached as she spoke, breaking my heart with every word she said.  
  
"What about last night, what we said?" I wondered. We were going to run away and live a life together away from everything, weren't we?  
  
"I don't expect you to understand." She said, annoyed. She was right, I was completely lost. Why now, why had she picked this time to tell me this? "The difference between you and I is that you can leave any time you choose." I shook my head desperately, on the verge of tears. "But this is my home. The Moulin Rouge is my home."  
  
"No." I told her, searching my mind for something to make her stay with me. But she only turned her back. "There must be something else," I pondered. "This can't be real." Could it?  
  
"There's something the matter." I pressed. "Tell me what it is, tell me what's wrong!" I begged. She ran to the door but I was faster. I caught her in her tracks. "Tell me the truth!" I cried. "Tell me the truth!"  
  
She coughed and gasped, struggling against my grip. Why was she doing this? What had I done?  
  
"The truth?" She began. "The truth is, I am the Hindu Courtesan, and I choose the maharaja. That's how the story really ends"  
  
I tried to speak, but nothing would come.  
  
_"Jealousy has driven him mad!"_  
  
Thunder crashed outside, displaying my mood with defiance. I was left standing there in the doorway, my head sinking to my chest, my eyes welling up and tears clouded my vision. My shoulders shook from the effort of crying.  
  
I ran outside in the rain to the front entrance of the Moulin Rouge and screamed Satine's name into the sky. I thought perhaps she'd hear me and come back. I half hoped I might wake up from this nightmare and see Satine sleeping next to me. But it was real. The nightmare was real.  
  
Just when I thought I could scream no longer two officers took hold of both my arms and dragged me away, one throwing such a hard punch at my face that I blacked out, my head sinking to the ground.  
  
When I awoke I was bundled in a blanket and Toulouse was sitting beside me. I refused to do anything but sit and stare blankly out the window, watching the rain pelt against the glass.  
  
"Things aren't always as they seem." Toulouse said, trying to cheer me up.  
  
"Things are exactly the way they seem." I muttered.  
  
"Christian," He started. "You may see me only as a drunken, vice-ridden gnome whose friends are just pimps and girls from the brothels, but I know about art and love if only because I long for it with every fiber of my being. She loves you. I know it. I know she loves you."  
  
I tried to tell him to go away, but he didn't move. Finally I yelled at him and he exited the room, leaving me alone yet again.  
  
I wanted to shut out what Toulouse had said, but he had filled me with doubt. And there was only one way to be sure. I had to know. I sold my beloved typewriter and so I returned to the Moulin Rouge one last time.


	7. Chapter 7

My fear mounted as I drew closer and closer to the doors of the Moulin Rouge. The play had already begun, with its flashing lights and full orchestra. Everyone was costumed with detail, and the singing had started. I slipped stealthily in from a window leading to the backstage. I suppose I wasn't as quiet as I would have liked, and I was noticed my the Duke's manservant, who had obviously been set to kill me if I did arrive.  
  
As he rounded the corner after me, I slipped between some wooden planking until he was out of sight again. Then I proceeded to make my way to Satine's dressing room. She was onstage at the moment, so I waited, holding my breath, for her to return backstage and to give me my final goodbye.  
  
She was singing her famous solo song, but in an Indian style.  
  
"_Kiss. . . .hand. . . . diamonds best friend_."  
  
"_Kiss . . . . . grand . . . . diamonds best friend_."  
  
"_Men, cold. . . . .girls, old. . . . and we all lose our charms in the end_."  
  
I moved still closer to my destination.  
  
"_Diamonds are a, diamonds are a, diamonds are a. . . "  
  
"Girls best friend."_  
  
As the song ended I approached a steep staircase and peered upwards. Just then the Argentinean fell in front of me, unconscious yet again. I took his costume and ran to Satine's dressing room, a plan already brewing.  
  
As I rounded her door, she pivoted around to face me, gasping.  
  
"I've come to pay my bill." I said sadly.  
  
"You shouldn't be here Christian." She answered me indirectly, walking out the door. I followed her, fully aware that she had to be on the stage in a matter of minutes. "Just leave." She commanded. But I couldn't just go. I had to know.  
  
Satine gasped as she tried to run from me. I caught her arm as she was about to climb up the stairs to the stage.  
  
"You made me believe that you loved me." I spat. "Why shouldn't I pay you!"  
  
"Please Christian," She begged, a glazed look in her eye.  
  
"You did your job so very well." I hissed, almost pushing her up the stairs. She struggled to get away, but I was stronger. I wouldn't leave until she told me she had never loved me.  
  
"Why can't I pay you like everyone else does?" I yelled, fuming.  
  
"Don't Christian, there's no point, just leave." She demanded again.

We had reached the stage now, and I held her wrists tight, Zidler yelling lines on the other side.  
  
"If it wasn't real, why can't I pay you?" I said again. Tears were now running down her face, leaving streaks of black on her cheeks. All this time, Toulouse was hanging many levels above my head, trying to prevent what had already happened.  
  
"Let me pay, let me pay!" I yelled frantically. "Tell me you don't love me, tell me it wasn't real!"  
  
_"Open the door!"_  
  
The door in front of us opened, exposing us to the bright stage lights and the audience. Blinded for a moment, I blinked and breathed heavily, still hanging on to Satine's wrists.  
  
But once again, Zidler had a lie in mind. He laughed it off, explaining to the audience that I was indeed the Sitar Player, only in a disguise. They seemed to believe it. I walked Satine down the stairs and dropped her, making her fall to the floor. The audience sighed in sympathy. What did they know? Nothing, they knew n_othing._  
  
I looked out at the Duke and pointed to Satine.  
  
"This woman is yours now." I said, throwing money at her. "I've paid my whore." This made the audience gasp, but I was far from caring.  
  
I turned to Satine, tears starting to sting my eyes. "I owe you nothing, and you are nothing to me." I paused, starting to choke up as a lump formed in my throat.  
  
"Thank you for curing me of my ridiculous obsession with love." I said, trying to hold back sobs unsuccessfully. As I exited the stage I paused to look at the Duke, then I began to walk slowly down the aisle.  
  
"This Sitar player doesn't love you!" Zidler ad-libbed. "See he flees the kingdom!"  
  
Just as I was about the leave the theatre for good, I heard Toulouse's yells from backstage.  
  
"The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return!" He screamed. This made me stop in my tracks. Then I heard Satine start to sing.  
  
_"Never knew I could feel like this."_ Why was she singing our song? I thought she didn't love me.  
  
_"It's like I've never seen the sky before."_ I was confused, doubtful, hopeful, and angry all at once. But this time I wasn't sure if she was telling the truth or not. I had been tricked once, and I wasn't about to be tricked again.  
  
_"Want to vanish inside your kiss."_ My doubt was slipping away. How could she be lying if she was singing our song?  
  
_"Every day I'm loving you more and more. Listen to my heart, can you hear it sing?"_ I turned around slowly. _"Come back to me and forgive everything!"_ I was sure she wasn't pretending anymore.  
  
_"Seasons may change. Winter to spring. I love you till the end of time."_  
  
I knew what I had to do. I opened my mouth and began to sing.  
  
_"Come what may." _

_"Come what may."_

_ "Come what may." _

_"Come what may."_ I began walking briskly back up to the stage. _"I will love you until my dying day."_ My heart flooded with relief. She still loved me.  
  
_"Come what may."_

_ "Come what may."_ I was holding Satine in my arms now, our faces touching. _"I will love you until my dying-"_ Just before our last note, Toulouse came running out onto the stage yelling, "Christian, he's got a gun!  
  
"He's trying to kill you!" The audience laughed, thinking it was all in the script. Then pandemonium broke out on the stage, everyone dancing and yelling in different directions. Finally some order came together and we broke out into a song.  
  
_"No matter what you say. The show is ending our way. Come on and stand your ground for freedom, beauty, truth and love. You can't fool the children of the revolution."  
_  
_[I'll fly away]  
  
[My gift is my song]  
  
"Children of the revolution."  
  
[I'll fly away]  
  
[My gift is my song]_  
  
I beamed as the song reached its climax. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the Duke leaving in a fit of rage.  
  
_"I will love you, until my dying day_."  
  
The Duke started racing down the isle at us, gun raised, but was stopped when Zidler punched him in the face. The song ended then, the curtain closing in front of us.  
  
It was such an exhilarating feeling, to be standing next to the one I loved, I can't even describe it. But as quickly as the moment had come, it ended.


	8. Chapter 8

I smiled at Satine, my face changing drastically as I saw her gasp for air. She fell seconds before I ran to catch her, her body almost limp in my arms. I felt her breaths shake her whole body as I heard her wheeze. What was wrong? To my horror I saw a slow trickle of blood escape the side of her mouth.  
  
"Somebody fetch some help!" I yelled in between comforting words to Satine.  
  
"I'm sorry Christian," She whispered breathily between gasps. "I'm dying." She finished. I shushed her. This couldn't be true. The desperation I felt in that moment alone was enough to fill up the whole theatre, the whole city of Paris even.  
  
There is nothing worse than having your loved one die in front of you and you can do nothing to help. It is a complete and utter feeling of helplessness, and it is the worst feeling in the world.  
  
She said again that she was sorry.  
  
"You'll be alright." I said this over and over again, more to convince myself than her.  
  
"Cold-" She whimpered. "I'm cold, I'm-I-hold me, Christian." She begged. I pulled her closer to my body, my eyes overflowing with salty tears. Satine, my Satine, was dying.  
  
"You're okay." I said yet again. I couldn't accept the fact that I might never see her again. That I would never be able to touch her, or hug her or kiss her. "I love you." I said, feeling her tremble.  
  
"You've got to go on, Christian." She whispered. I shook my head, fresh tears filling up my eyes.  
  
"Can't go on without you, though." I protested. It was true; I couldn't go on without Satine.  
  
"You've got so much to give." Those words made me realize in full that this was indeed the last time I would hold my Satine and be able to speak to her. This night, this moment, right now, it was the very last moment I would ever spend with her for the rest of my life.  
  
This hit me like a rock. My face contorted as I held back racking sobs, my fingers trembling underneath Satine's body. She touched my face, only making the pain worse. This would be the last time I would ever feel her.  
  
"Tell our story, Christian." She mumbled. I shook my head. I didn't want to have this story to tell. I didn't want it, I didn't. I started sobbing.  
  
"No." I whimpered. She nodded.  
  
"Yes. Promise me." I couldn't bring myself to do it.  
  
"Promise me." I continued to cry.  
  
"Promise me. Yes. That way, I'll always be with you." She started wheezing again, and I brought my head down and kissed Satine one last time.  
  
In that very moment, before I had even pulled away, Satine died in my arms.  
  
I stared at her. She was gone, and I could never, ever have her back. Never. Everyone backstage was silent as my sobs pierced the air. The audience on the other side was still cheering, they didn't have any idea what had just happened. I continued sobbing as Satine's limp body sagged in my arms. That night was the last night I saw Satine for the rest of my life.

__

_[There was a boy. A very strange enchanted boy]_  
  
Days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months. And then one not so very special day, I went to my typewriter, I sat down and I wrote our story.  
  
A story about a time, a story about a place, a story about the people.  
  
But above all things, a story about love. A love that will live forever.  
  
The end.


End file.
